


Emotion

by UncommonVillian



Series: Tales of the Old Republic [2]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M, Light Side Sith Warrior, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 10:31:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12885981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UncommonVillian/pseuds/UncommonVillian
Summary: Sometimes a Sith isn't who he seems to be.





	Emotion

"Alright, Jaesa. What is the Sith code?" Briehinne and Jaesa sat together in the Fury in his private quarters on his bed so they he could instruct her in privacy.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion." Jaesa recited. "Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall set me free."

"Very good, Jaesa." Briehinne smiled down at her. "You're learning fast, my lovely student."

Briehinne's comment made Jaesa blush. Ever since she arrived on his ship, Briehinne gave her the most flattering of complements and she really did enjoy it. She never understood why the Jedi would forbid such things as attatchments or emotions since she never felt stronger in her infatuation with her handsome teacher.

"Only because of your training and your wisdom, my master." she said, bashfully brushing her hair.

Little did she realize that he didn't take being called "master" too well. He liked that she respected him and looked up to him as her teacher, but the whole master thing made him feel old and they were only two years apart. Master seemed like a name to give to old fat men like Baras and Briehinne was far from like him and Jaesa knew it.

"Master,may I ask a question?" Jaesa asked.

"Of course, Jaesa. You don't have to ask." Briehinne told her.

"Well, I've had a thought that's been going for a few days. When you and I first meet, I was expecting you to try and turn me to the Dark Side, but you instead wanted me to stay in the Light. Like I said, you are a Sith but your action is that of the Light Side. Master Briehinne, what was the cause of this? What is you catalyst?"

He should have known that this question would come sooner or later so he wasn't surprised at all of this. He was preparing for it and was ready to give an answer.

"I come from a very powerful family from Dromund Kaas. We are Sith and loyal to the Empire. But when I was a small child, I snuck into the restricted section of Kaas City Library. It archived stolen Jedi holocrons and I wanted to learn from them, knowing full well that even looking at them was a death sentence. I stole two of them because I wanted to learn as much of the Force that I could. I was entranced by what I learned." Briehinne looked into the palms of his hands and said, "The Light Side taught of compassion, an emotion I thought weak and pathetic. But it happened, a slave that my parents owned was starved and I couldn't stand to see her suffer."

Tears began to form in his eyes.

"She was so small, so frail. She was just a Twi'lek child and my mother took pleasure in torturing her, promising her food that she never got. One day, I saw her in the fields, breathing heavily and laying on the ground. I wanted to just let her die there, but my lessons in the Light were plaguing my mind. 'Never look onto a weaker being as your inferior. The strong must rise to protect the weak.' She was only a child, bred to serve, a life that she didn't deserve."

He looked to Jaesa, tears streaming hard down his cheeks, Jaesa looking back at him in shock, covering her mouth in utter horror.

"I ran Jaesa. I ran for my kitchen and grabbed any food I could and ran for her. I tried to feed her, begged her to eat, but she was already too far gone. She died in my arms and I just sat there crying. I failed an innocent soul and I wanted nothing more than to die because I let a child die."

"Master." Jaesa gasped as she listen to his story. She could feel the pain in his words as he told the story.

"My mother stood over me, disgusted by my weeping." Briehinne continued. "'Compassion is a weakness that no Sith will ever share. Remember that my son. Now dispose of the body.' Dispose of it, like it was a piece of trash. It was at that moment that my mother, one of the many Dark Lords that I idolized and loved, became my most hated enemy."

"What happened?" Jaesa asked.

Briehinne wiped his cheeks and tried to calm himself. When he did, he continued his story, "I gave the child a proper burial and planted flower seeds on her grave. Afterwards, I learned more from the holocrons that I stole. When I was done with them, I took them back and took more. I learned from those then I stole more. I learned more and more and with each act of kindness that I gave to the rest of the slaves, I felt my knowledge and strength in the Force grow and grow. To coincide with my compassion towards the slaves and my hatred for my mother, my parents, I felt myself grow stronger. I was finally ready to face them and I defeated them."

"You killed them?"

"And I freed the slaves. Days later, Imperial soldiers stormed my home and arrested me. I was punished to slave away on Korriban and be treated the same way as that poor girl."

"Oh, Briehinne!" Jaesa sobbed as she wrapped her arms around her master. She sobbed at the very thought of him suffering like the way the Twi'lek slave girl he tried to save. She held him tightly and just cried on his shoulder. When she regained her emotions, she asked him, "How-how did you escape?"

Briehinne gave her a reassuring smile and said, "I was saved by Overseer Tremel. He brought me out of the desert and helped me recover. He helped me to regain my strength and sensed my power. He helped with my training and we became close. He was more of a father than my own blood father was. He even brought me to the Sith Academy and I was back on track."

He began to wipe Jaesa's tears away as if to signify that the worst of it was over. He had already told her of the time when Baras order him to kill Tremel but instead spared his life. He had also confided in her that he planned on bringing Baras to his knees and that he needed her help. For all of his kindness towards her and all he had vowed for her, she agreed.

"Brie, thank you." Jaesa said to him.

Confused, he asked her, "For what?"

"For trusting me. For telling me all of this. I feel like I can be someone you can count on."

"Jaesa, I want to be more than your master." Briehinne stood up, holding her hands and lead her to her feet with him. "When I first learned about you, I wanted you as my ally and I wanted to be yours. I wanted both you and Noman Karr to be at my side. He wanted you both dead but I wanted to us to work together. When you reached out to me after I left Alderaan, I knew you and I would finally meet and connect."

The two locked eyes and continued to hold hands.

"I want to be your protector. Jaesa, you have an innocent soul and I want to protect you. I failed that little girl, I won't fail you."

"Briehinne." Jaesa moaned as she soaked in his words. He truly cared for her. "Thank you."

The two tightly embraced.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help Master Karr." Briehinne told her as he held her close.

His apology made her hold him closer. Noman Karr's turn to the Dark Side still haunted her, the insanity that ran through his heart was just horrific. More importantly, she knew Briehinne wanted to help her former master.

"I know you tried." she said as she parted from him. "But at least you turned him over to the Jedi Council. Despite their flaws, they can save him. If you had turned him over to Baras, he would have killed him."

"I wasn't going to let that happen. I know how much he meant to you."

She smiled up at him, but her smile was weak.

"Jaesa, are you okay?" he asked her, setting her down on the bed. "You look tired."

"A little. Our lightsaber training really took it out of me?"

"And you've been hiding it all this time?" He wasn't upset but she should have told him. "I think it's time we call it a day."

Before he could say anything else, he felt Jaesa's weight on him. Her fatigue must have finally taken a toll on her because she fell asleep in his arms. Surprised at first, he only held softly and let her sleep. Thinking to himself that he could use a little rest, he held her tightly and laid back onto his bed and let her lay on him.

As he watched her sleep, he reflected on the moment they just had. Though he smiled, he had harbored some guilt because he only told her half of the truth. He wasn't ready to tell her or anyone else about the other reason he turned from the Dark Side. Until they were finished with their plans an Baras was out of the way, the story of his brother and sister would remain a secret.


End file.
